![\"Foreign](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/726076.jpeg\"\/)
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on June 17, 2026. (credit: Shlomi Amsalem\/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)<\/p>\nOn May 17, 2025, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi sent a letter to the leaders of all 193 UN member states, asking them to formally recognize Somaliland\u2019s independence.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly one of them replied,\u201d Abdullahi said in an exclusive interview with The Jerusalem Post. \u201cIt was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. We then reached the conclusion that Israel would recognize Somaliland.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somaliland, a self-governing territory of roughly six million people in the Horn of Africa, declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after the collapse of Somalia\u2019s central government.<\/p>\n
Although it has maintained its own government, security forces, elections, and state institutions for more than three decades, it remains unrecognized by most of the international community.<\/p>\n
That changed on December 26, 2025, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would formally recognize Somaliland, making it the first UN member state to do so.<\/p>\n
This week, Abdullahi arrived in Israel for an official visit, the first by a Somaliland president since recognition was granted. However, it was not his first trip to the country.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar with Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on June 17, 2026. (credit: Shlomi Amsalem\/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs)<\/p>\n
\u201cI came discreetly in October 2025. At that time, we were exploring ways and means to secure recognition for Somaliland,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
During that visit, Abdullahi met with Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa\u2019ar, who had been advancing behind-the-scenes contacts between the two sides.<\/p>\n
Somaliland president visits Israel in first since official recognition<\/strong><\/p>\n The Somaliland leader is now seeking to expand cooperation with Israel across a broad range of sectors, including economic development, natural resources, agriculture, water management, and security.<\/p>\n Since Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland, foreign media reports have repeatedly speculated that Israel could establish a military presence in the territory because of its strategic location along the Gulf of Aden, directly across from Yemen and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a vital maritime chokepoint through which ships traveling to Eilat must pass.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not discussed that,\u201d Abdullahi said. However, he added, \u201cI cannot rule out the possibility that it could happen in the future. If our cooperation continues to deepen, our relationship could develop far beyond where it stands today.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli officials say practical cooperation between the two countries is already underway, particularly in water management.<\/p>\n \u201cWe identified many areas in which they need support, but we recognized water management as the most important because it is a field where meaningful change can be achieved relatively quickly,\u201d Eynat Shlein, deputy director-general of MASHAV, Israel\u2019s Agency for International Development Cooperation at the Foreign Ministry, told the Post.<\/p>\n Even before the recent conflict with Iran, 25 water engineers from Somaliland traveled to Israel to participate in a national water-resource management training program.<\/p>\n \u201cAnother similar course has just begun with twenty-five additional water engineers. Together with Israel\u2019s Water Authority, we are teaching them advanced Israeli methods, providing extensive professional guidance, and working with them on their own projects,\u201d Shlein said.<\/p>\n She added that Somaliland has also requested Israeli assistance in the healthcare sector.<\/p>\n \u201cWe funded the arrival of children suffering from heart disease through the Save a Child\u2019s Heart organization. There will be cooperation across many sectors \u2013 whether agriculture, energy, or education \u2013 with the goal of reflecting the importance of the relationship between our two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n Economic cooperation is also attracting significant interest from the Israeli private sector.<\/p>\n Somaliland\u2019s business ties in Israel<\/strong><\/p>\n During his visit, Abdullahi met with a large group of Israeli business leaders and investors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere was such strong interest that many businesspeople who wanted to attend could not be accommodated, and we had to limit participation to just 200 companies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have many opportunities to offer \u2013 mineral resources, natural gas, oil, fisheries, and livestock. There is a great deal that we can bring to the table.\u201d<\/p>\n The president acknowledged that Israel\u2019s recognition of Somaliland drew criticism from several countries, particularly in the Arab world, but said he remains confident that other nations will eventually follow Israel\u2019s lead.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope our relationship with Israel will continue to grow stronger, and I believe additional Arab countries will eventually follow.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the prospects for US recognition, which is championed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R), Abdullahi expressed optimism.<\/p>\n \u201cWe hope the United States will recognize us in the future. We are holding discussions with American officials on the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n He also revealed that he may travel to the United States before the end of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cThe entire world followed my visit to Israel; millions of people were watching,\u201d Abdullahi said. \u201cThe very exposure Somaliland has received is a major achievement. Israel and Somaliland are close partners, and our relationship will continue and become even stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n As for a future visit by Netanyahu to Somaliland, Abdullahi was equally confident.<\/p>\n \u201cNetanyahu will come to Somaliland at the right time. In the meantime, our relations will continue to flourish.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On May 17, 2025, Somaliland President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi sent a letter to the leaders of all 193…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":875677,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[372,28463,99,50,219042,1206],"class_list":["post-875676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-benjamin-netanyahu","tag-gideon-saar","tag-israel","tag-news","tag-somaliland","tag-united-nations"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116770718743492036","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=875676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/875676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/875677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=875676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=875676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=875676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}